Matteo and Marco Happenings

January 2010

2010-01-25T16:31:00.001-08:00

Marco watching Polar Express in 3D. This was the only way we could get his glasses to stay on...

Matteo with his and Matt's birthday cake. It was a M & M cake!

Matteo hanging with Poppy!

Matteo skiing at Loon Mountain with NE Disabled Sports and MAPVI event. It was his first time off the bunny slope... onto the Kissing Cousins run!

Apple Picking & Soccer - 9/13/09

2009-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Matteo, Marco, & buddy Jackson went apple picking with their parents.

Then Matteo had a soccer game and he had 3 girls helping him out! Lucky Matteo!
Margo his neighbor was a big help!

Maine vacation Aug 2009

2009-08-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Matt and I celebrated our anniversary at Ogunquit, Maine. We had two days away while Meen and Poppi watched Matteo and Marco. The weather was perfect!

A walk down the beach when the tide was out.

A view of our hotel from the beach - the Beachmere

Another view of our hotel from Marginal Way.

A view from the beach in front of the hotel while the tide was out. It is really amazing since this is all under water when the tide is in.

These are stacked rocks that are on display - anyone can do it and no one knows when this started.

Perkins Cove

We walked down Marginal Way to Perkins Cove and had dinner at Oarweed Restaurant. This was the view from our table.

I was treated to some spa treatments... my first pedicure! I chose purple of course. :)

We then met up with the boys, Meem, and Poppi at Aunt Dee's and Uncle Mike's Maine cottage.

Matteo swimming in the lake and loving life!

Marco getting comfortable with the lake.

Marco hanging in his car raft and having a grand time!

Matteo chilling in the swing.

Matteo getting ready to jump in!

Aunt Dee lounging on the dock.

Meem with Marco and Hayley.

Matteo and Marco with Hayley.

Marco singing the ABC's sort of...

2009-08-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Marco's 2nd Birthday - 8/3/09

2009-08-03T16:52:00.001-07:00

Marco's 2nd birthday!
We went to the pool and had fun swimming! Meem came to watch Matteo and Marco swim with mom.

Meem and Popi relaxing on the deck.

Marco playing with his new set of Legos!

Marco's birthday cake!

Marco getting ready to blow out the candles!

Great job!

Eating Cake! Yummy!!!!

Summer Break June 2009

2009-07-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

We went to Drew's Bucknell reunion party and had a lot of fun! Here is a picture of all of us gathering around the desserts...yummy!

Shelly, Matteo, and Marco went to NJ.
We attended a Piscataway high school mini reunion at mom's friends Kim and Bob's house. We got to see very old friends and meet everyone's kiddies!!! It was an awesome day!

Shelly, Matteo, and Marco went to Great Adventure with Joanne, Amy, Katherine, Anne Marie, and Lazaro.

Matteo and Marco at Davisfarmland - https://www.davisfarmland.com.
Water table fun!

They got to pet sheep and goats.

They played on the swings, slides, some very big tires and a tractor.

Lastly they got to play in the sprinklers.

Matteo and Marco learning how to ride bikes - 5/17/09

2009-05-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

Matt helping Matteo to ride a bike

Matteo doing well

Marco learning to ride his tricycle

Matteo's Memorial Day Concert - 5/22/09

2009-05-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Matteo singing in his Memorial Day Kindergarten Concert.

Matteo's favor part was taking a bow - watch his video below

Matteo practicing for his piano recital

2009-05-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Matteo is playing the four songs he had to do for today's recital. Marco is the background laughing.
This Little PigB
Baabaa Black Sheep
Little Miss Muffit
Old King Cole

Matteo playing baseball -5/16/09

2009-05-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Matteo plays on a Challenger League baseball team. This is his second year and he really likes it.

His team

Matteo with his buddy running the bases.

Coach Joe Kennedy assisting Matteo.

Matt helping Matteo get ready to hit.

Outer Banks - Duck, NC - April 2009

2009-04-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

We had a family vacation at Duck, NC - outer banks over our April vacation week. The house was on the ocean and was really nice. The weather was good for the most part but the water was extremely cold! Matteo was the only one brave enough to go in it... :)

Marco on our deck

When Matteo was not playing the cold water he was at the dining room table brailling or reading his braille stories.

Meem hanging on the beach with the boys.

Everyone hanging on the beach.

Matteo and Marco with the Stow Independent.

Bubble fun!

At the Wright Brothers Museum we got to see the location of the first flights. There are monuments marking the locations of the takeoff and landing of the first flight.

First flight takeoff marker.

First flight landing marker.

Matteo and Marco in front of a life size replica of the first plane.

Shelly & Marco at the beach in front of our house.

Crazy Matteo sitting at the water.

Wherever we go we manage to find some playgrounds.

Matteo and Marco on the tire swing.

Matteo and Marco on the tire horses.

The boys on the swings.

Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla.

Ice Cream Yum!

Marco playing hide and go seek.

Hanging at the beach.

Family photo on the walkway to the beach.

Marco laying on Matteo.

Matteo hugging Marco.

Ring around the rosy.

View from our bedroom.

Sunrise 6:20 am from our deck.

Matteo flying a kite.

Things are going well...

But then go horribly wrong.

Miraculously Matteo recovers.

Matt flying the kite.

Shelly flying the kite.

Marco dumping sand on Matteo's head.

Matteo reading Hop on Pop

2009-04-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

Matteo is reading Braille and doing an awesome job!

Winter Fun! Sledding and Skiing January 2009

2009-01-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Matteo and Marco getting ready to go out in the snow!

It is hard getting out on the deck with all this snow!

Matteo is trying to sled down the hill in our backyard but the snow is fresh powder. Great for skiing not for sledding.

Matteo at Nashoba Valley Ski area. He is getting ready for his adaptive ski lesson.

Shelly and Matteo

Matteo is riding up on the magic carpet.

Matteo is coming down the bunny slope with two volunteers. He is holding onto a pole.

Matteo reaches the bottom and is ready to do it again. He probably did this about 25 times in one hour.

Coco Keys water park in Fitchburg, MA - 1/10/09

2009-01-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Matteo and Matt's birthdays 1/7/09

2009-01-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

The birthday boys eating pizza.

Meem and Poppi came up from South Carolina to celebrate with us.

The cake...

Blowing out the candles. 5 + 1 + 1 = 7

Matteo eating ice cream cake.

Marco eating his birthday cake.

Matteo showing us some of his gifts... a gumball machine for M & M's, and 3 CDs - Jonas Brothers, David Archuleta, and Now 29 top hits. None of this music Matt and I like but Matteo loves it...

Celebrating after Christmas in New Jersey

2008-12-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

We went to visit the Spisso's (Aunt Vicki & Uncle Brian) in NJ. Matteo is opening his present. Could it be a pair of footy PJ's??? Yes it can!

Marco trying out his new tricycle! Lots of fun so look out!

Then off to Aunt Patti's house for some holiday gathering.

Then back to the Spisso's to hang with cousin Brian Jr. who is home from Iraq.

The family getting ready to play some Wii.

So this is Christmas 12/25/08

2008-12-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

Ho, Ho, Ho... Merry Christmas!

Marco is my very own Linus... baba and blankey

Marco loves to sit on his big brother Matteo

Matteo and Marco love dancing. Especially to Christmas music!

Here is the video of it.

Matteo was jamming out on the guitar trying to play some Christmas music on Christmas Eve.

Matteo sitting and hanging with Santa but Marco was very scared of him.

Christmas morning... Matteo on his exercise bike and Marco on his rocker.

Marco sitting in his big truck! This is fun!

The most fun was in the chair swing!

Marco was helping me vacuum with my new Dyson!

Marco is getting ready for our nightly ritual of Goodnight Moon. He is wearing his Christmas PJs.

Matteo in his new footy PJs. He was so excited to get a pair that fits him again!

Video of the Artful Tree

2008-12-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

http://cfc.whtm.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=29781
It is a video of the Artful Tree in Harrisburg, PA. The tree is decorated with ornaments made from visually impaired kids and adults from around the country. Matteo's ornament is in this video. It is the silver bow with colorful pom-poms. It is a little bit after the man speaks. The young girl in the video also has anophthalmia and her grandmother is the owner of http://www.braille-a-wear.com/.

Decorating the Christmas Treet

2008-12-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

Matteo putting his ornament on the tree while Marco supervises.

Matteo reaching very high while Marco is climbing up to help!

Holiday Season Happenings - 12/7/08

2008-12-07T18:20:00.001-08:00

Maria and Peter came over for dinner Saturday night with this kiddies - Isabel and Ryan.
Here everyone is watching a good movie.

Then today on Sunday we attended the MAPVI - www.mapvi.org Holiday Party.
We got to decorate gingerbread men and then eat them!

Matteo got to hang out with his friends Sai and Ethan.

Santa came to visit and everyone got a present.

Slide Fun 12/7/08

2008-12-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

During our visit last week to the Gibbons house we discovered that Tyler had a slide attached to his bunk bed. So I realized that I could do the same for Matteo. I took the outdoor slide in for the winter and attached it to Matteo's bunk bed. Matteo and Marco were thrilled. Marco is wearing his elf outfit.

Matteo and Marco Thanksgivng weekend 11/08

2008-12-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Matteo and Marco have been keeping very busy.

They have been playing piano together.

Matteo made a Gingerbread house at his friend Sai's house.

Then we went down to NJ to visit Grandma Rosie's resting spot.

We also got to see Aunt Vicki, Uncle Brian, Deana, and Aunt Patti.

Matteo got to do some dancing with Aunt Vicki.

Then off to PA to visit the Gibbons clan for a pajama party.

Happy Halloween 10/31/08

2008-11-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween started with a parade at Matteo's school. Mom and Marco went to watch. Marco was in his Pooh costume and Matteo was in his Scooby Doo costume. Matteo's school aide Mrs. Harvey was dressed up like a scare crow. Then off to the mall and the neighbors to do trick or treating.

Pumpkin carving 10/30/08

2008-11-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

Every year Matt carves a pumpkin and this year was no exception. Only this year Marco got to help Matteo make a mess. Lots of pumpkin fun for all!

Matteo lost his first tooth - 10/23/08

2008-10-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Matteo's bottom right front tooth has been loose for weeks. Then it really started moving a lot. Matteo could not stop playing with it so I had to check the status. He let me pull at it which made it even more loose. Of course then Matteo could really not stop playing with it. So I suggested that he just pull it out. Well low and behold that is what he did. Matteo has the highest threshold for pain - nothing stops this kid. He was so excited that he did not want to go to sleep. So we put it in a zip lock and put it under this pillow. Three hours later he finally fell asleep. He woke up to find $1 under his pillow from the tooth fairy. He wants to buy M & Ms with it.

Footy Pajamas

2008-10-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

Matteo loves wearing his footy pajamas. Unfortunately he is growing out of them. Marco is just starting the footy pajamas journey and has a few more years left.

Aunti Vicki's visit - 10/11/08

2008-10-12T18:11:00.001-07:00

Aunt Vicki came to visit us all the way from NJ. First stop was Matteo's last game of his Miracle League. He hit the ball out of the park! Then he received his trophy! His team was Team Papi and Matteo was about as good as Big Papi!

Then we were off to Shelburne Farms, Stow, MA - right across the street from our house. We climbed on pumpkins, jumped in the moon bounce, climbed up a hay mountain, feed goats, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Fall is really a great time here in New England.

MAPVI Apple Picking - 10/4/08

2008-10-04T17:41:00.001-07:00

Mom is the event coordinator for MAPVI - Massachusetts Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired - mapvi.org. As a result -- we got to participate in a fun filled day at the MAPVI annual apple picking event. We got to ride on a hayride, pick apples, and get pumpkins. When we got home we got to get the eat our findings!!!

Ben & Sam's visit 9/27/08

2008-10-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ben and Samantha came to visit with mom Jen all the way from NJ. Unfortunately it rained the whole time so we did not get to do too much. We did get to play at One Stop Fun in the ball pit and tunnel slides. Plus we did go to Shelburne Farms for cinder donuts in the rain.

Matteo & Marco in their braille shirts

2008-09-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Check out Matteo and Marco in their Bitty Braille shirts